Rapids churn in Infinity Falls — but no open date set
With no tourists — or anyone else — on board to soak, a SeaWorld Orlando raft plunged down a 40-foot drop with a giant splash at Infinity Falls on Friday.
Only mostly construction workers witnessed the working ride, which still hasn’t opened to the public.
A SeaWorld executive gave a tour to show off the attraction but wouldn’t give any hints about how far away opening day is or if it would debut by Labor Day weekend, the traditional end of summer.
“We’re working around the clock to get it open as quick as possible,” said Jeff Hornick, senior director of theme park development.
For the first time, it felt like Infinity Falls was real.
In late June, journalists and bloggers were invited to what felt like a construction site with mounds of dirt and heavy machinery on display.
But now, about 900,000 gallons of water filled the troughs. Four massive pumps pushed water out fast enough to fill up a home’s swimming pool in about seven seconds.
Immediately out of the loading dock, the water moved calmly until after the first turn. White rapids churned as an empty eight-passenger raft was caught up in the flow for several seconds on the narrow passage.
The flume ride is meant to juggle peaceful moments, floating past a flock of flamingos, to the more thrilling rapids and a 40-foot drop.
“You want sections to catch your breath,” said Hornick, one of just a handful of SeaWorld employees to have ridden Infinity Falls.
Right now, dummies — large containers that can be filled with sand — are testing the rafts.
SeaWorld must run the ride thousands of times to mimic what happens on the raft when a group of heavy sumo wrestlers or a group of tiny gymnasts ride. Each scenario affects how the raft moves, which leads to more test runs.
Infinity Falls’ slow rollout was criticized by the company’s interim CEO during a recent earnings call with analysts.
John Reilly called the ride’s delay, which has already missed most of the busy summer tourism season, “disappointing.”
“We need to and will be better,” he told the analysts earlier this month.
Infinity Falls will be the last ride to open this year for SeaWorld Entertainment, which has 12 theme parks across the country. Ray Rush, the new water slide at Aquatica, SeaWorld’s Orlando water park, debuted in May.
Several factors, including weather, contributed to the delay for a ride Hornick called “one of a kind.”
Parts had to be shipped from Germany and Switzerland, he said. SeaWorld can fine-tune the ride and make changes late in the process, adding to the complexity of the project, Hornick said.
“It’s going to be worth the wait,” he said.